Mushrooms

 :: raspberry slime mold ::

 :: bird's nest fungus ::

:: galiella rufa ::

I Dreamt

"In my dream, I see these fantastic paintings that were done by
somebody else. And I wish that I had painted them. And I wake up, and
after a while the impression wears off. I say, wait a minute, those
are my paintings. I dreamt them; they're mine. Then I can't remember
what they were." - David Lynch



I've started working on a new artist's book that's been in my head for a long time. A book of dreams. Dreams I've told to other people or written down in notebooks. Some of these dreams are from my childhood, some very recent. 

I set a sample of text yesterday in 8 pt Garamond Italic from my type collection and printed it on Japanese style paper. Tiny and delicate. I like that. It's just the beginning. We'll see how it all turns out.

:: 8 pt Garamond Italic ::

 :: I dreamt... ::

Above and Below

It's June already! I've been working on some new letterpress prints, including this one titled, Above and Below. This is a continuation of the Small Fires series, an ongoing body of work that explores pictographic images as modes of communication. These prints are all handset with wood and metal type and printed on a Vandercook No. 4 Proof Press.

 

:: setting the type for Above and Below ::

:: detail :: 

 :: detail ::

:: Above and Below, 2013, 14.5" x 22", letterpress on cotton paper ::

Things

A friend asked me recently what I'm currently inspired by and I replied "things that look like other things." Not the most eloquent response, I'll work on that, but it's true. I've been looking at these images, as well as others, a great deal, photographs that exhibit the phenomenon of the repetition of forms in the manmade and natural world.

Oculus Song :: First Copy

Oculus song is a meditation on the night sky and our mind's interiors. The images evoke atmospheric phenomena and the geometry of architecture. The text is an original poem composed using an experimental technique of writing using translation software to alter the text and generate spontaneous new content to be edited into a new text.

This artist's book was made in a limited edition of 16, 12 softcover editions, and 4 deluxe hardcover editions. This is the softcover edition. The text was handset in 12 pt Futura and letterpress printed. The imagery is letterpress and risograph printed on a mix of handmade and recycled paper. Written, designed, printed, and bound by Marianne Dages, Huldra Press, 2013.

Dimensions : 7.25" x 4.5", 44 pages
Binding : 3 signature binding in a softcover case

It is available for sale here and here

 :: Cover ::

 :: OCULUS SONG ::

The bromides flash,
on top of my room.

Luminous pillars,
mortuous colors.

What is lost gathers here,
in the eye of Jupiter.

Its distant operations,
Anchor the dawn.

A frozen horse
with vesper hoof,

Aster Ochre -
The catalyst’s bloom,

how clear the song,
the pyramid moon.

- Marianne Dages, 2013

More Oculus Song

Progress in printing Oculus Song...

:: catalyst ::

 :: pages ::

 :: the next step? ::

:: materials ::

Spring

I spent Saturday with my family, walking in the woods. They were looking for birds but my eyes kept looking to the ground... 

 :: velvety little wood ears ::

 :: dryad's saddle ::

 :: Panaeolus foenisecii ::

:: triangles in trees, I'm seeing triangles everywhere it seems ::